Kendall Coyne, who grew up in Palos Heights, will participate in her second Winter Olympics with the U.S. women’s hockey team. Coyne won a silver medal at the 2014 Games in Sochi.

What does it mean to you to put on that USA sweater?

It actually means a little bit more this time, knowing my younger brother, Jake, was commissioned in the U.S. Army not too long ago. It’s a tremendous honor, one of the great feelings as an elite athlete, to be able to represent your country. The ultimate goal is to bring home a gold medal and represent the United States and women’s hockey in the best way possible.

Do you feel you’re representing Chicago at the Games?

Absolutely, specifically the South Side and all of the people in Chicago who have touched my hockey career in many different ways. It’s just so special to be from the Chicagoland area — it’s an amazing hockey city.

In March, you and other members of Team USA threatened to boycott the World Championships unless you received pay and benefits equal to the men’s program. Since coming to an agreement with USA Hockey, how has that impacted training for the Games?

It’s helped us prepare. It’s taken away some distractions, but I think the most important factor from that boycott was the camaraderie and closeness our team developed. We had to stick together. Now that we’re starting to see the impact it not only had on us but future generations, I think it puts more pressure on us to bring home the gold medal because we know how much of an impact we can have on other people.

Can you describe the rivalry between Team USA and Team Canada?

It’s one of the greatest rivalries in sports. It’s the game you train for. Ultimately as an elite athlete, in order to be the best you have to beat the best. They’ve had our number in the Olympic Games and we’ve had their number in World Championships, so it’s (about) finding a way to overcome that and bring home a gold medal for the first time in 20 years.

What sticks out most in your mind about the overtime loss to Canada in the 2014 gold-medal game?

The way we lost. We had the game won; we just had to close it out and we didn’t. I think everyone in sports has been through something like that before, and it’s so important that we learned from that and move on from it. I think we have. We just have to prove that come February.

Team USA was a hit post away in the waning seconds of the gold-medal game from sealing the victory. Do you still think about that moment?

Throughout my college career, or even just in practice, when you hit the post on an empty net it stings. We’ve moved on from that, but it’s always in the back of your head a little bit when you hit a post like that.

Off the ice what do you want to see in South Korea?

I’m hoping we’ll have the opportunity to explore some of the food they have there, the culture and interact with the South Korean people. I heard they are very, very friendly. The best part of the Olympics is just to be able to experience it with the other athletes, hear their stories and just soak up the moment.

Do you have an Olympic role model?

Cammi Granato. One of the biggest moments of my life is when I went to her hockey camp when I was 7, right after she won her gold medal (in 1998), and I turned to my parents and said, “I’m going to the Olympics.” Cammi was a role model for me. I just remember the feeling of empowerment she gave me when I was 7. Something I take serious when I come back to Chicago is hoping I can be that role model for some of the younger girls in our area.